In an effort to restore public trust in Fairfax County Police, residents were invited to join a police civilian review panel.
The panel will include just nine members, but so far, 143 people have applied or been nominated to serve on the panel. The deadline to submit applications was Jan. 31, but the Board of Supervisors is still collecting applications from prospective members.
The police shooting of an unarmed man in August 2013 caused criticism of the Fairfax County Police Department. An ad hoc police practices commission was formed following the incident. The motion to create a panel for civilians to review police abuse of authority and serious misconduct was approved in December 2016.
All civilian complaints will undergo a police internal affairs investigation before moving to the panel. If a person is not satisfied with the results of the police investigation, they can ask the review panel to step in. The panel can then press police for further action.
The panel is set to begin work later this year.
